After Puthiya Paravai, Iru Kodugal, Ethir Neechal and Kaaviya Thalaivi, she carefully chose roles only accepting meaningful ones. “I never felt I achieved so much. I was very choosy and too up substance-oriented films,” she says.
She says that unlike today, when shooting is about location hopping, those days, as an artiste she had the liberty to give inputs. “With K Balachander too I had the freedom to give my opinion. He used to accept it readily,” she says.
She also recounts working with Kannada star Rajkumar (Shabda Vedi) and Mammooty, as some of her cherished memories. “I did Soorya Manasam with Mammooty and completely enjoyed working with him. I played his mother and I don’t mind acting even as his grandmom. He is a fabulous actor,” she adds. A fan of Raj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar, Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Haasan, today, she is not averse to commercial films. “I decided to move away from the industry in the late 70s when I saw how a few senior artistes were being treated. But I will act if there is a suitable role,” she says.
Leading a quiet life in Bengaluru, where she shifted to almost 16 years ago, following a knee replacement surgery, she leads a life of quietude in her house on Kanakapura Road. “I stay very close to my sister, the renowned Telugu actor Krishna Kumari. My mother wanted us to be with each other after retirement,” she says. A personal life dotted with disappointments, she has fought odds with conviction and the support of her children. “It just goes to show how success could ruin a woman’s life. But I had to make my decisions. I came to the industry to take care of my kids. That remained my focus. More than education, it was the world that taught me so much. I have extremely supportive children. I have never touched their money. That gives me immense satisfaction,” she says.